Jesse's Web 2.0 Blog

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Vimeo is a tool similar to YouTube where you can upload videos you created and share with friends and family. You can also watch videos other people have created and You can sign up on the main page for free or log in with your Facebook credentials. There is a page where there are tutorials to teach you how to create videos if you do not already have your own. You can also add channels that you follow with videos you like, create and moderate groups and also organize your videos into albums.

Below is a video I uploaded to Vimeo that I created using FinalCut Pro.

There are Vimeo apps that you can download for either your iOS or Android devices that will allow you to watch, create and share videos from wherever you are without needing a computer.

Kids could use this while on a field trip, if they are allowed to use cell phones, to make movies about what they saw and to share with other classmates, other schools or even their parents. It would also be a way for them to save memories of things they have done.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

To start off I will give some background information on why I chose Hudl. I used to work as a video coordinator at the University of Maryland. My job included filming practices and games, creating opponent and self scout videos, cut ups of games for players and coaches and pump-up and end of year highlight videos.

At Maryland we used a program called SportsCode to capture practice and game film and then cut up the game into specific clips for the coaches and players to watch. We also recorded directly to tape and DVD. Only myself, the other video coordinators and the coaches had this software installed on their computers. The reason was that the cost, depending on the version, could be anywhere from about $3,000 to $20,000 per license; also the software only runs on a Mac so that is an additional cost. Once the practice or game was captured and cut up, we would copy the edited file to the coaches computers so they could watch on their own or with the team. We would also burn DVD's for the players to take home.

To create highlight videos we would use programs like FinalCut or Adobe Premiere. But again those are expensive programs. Here are two examples of a highlight videos I created for the Maryland Men's Soccer team using FinalCut:

Some of the problems with this software is:

1. cost

2. availability

3. being able to control if players were watching film or not

When I started working at Loyola Blakefield, I really wanted to get involved with lacrosse. I sat down and talked to the coach about what I used to do for Maryland. He really liked the idea, but at the high school level, the money was not there to purchase SportsCode. I started doing some research and talked to a few of the other lacrosse coaches I knew from college and high school and found Hudl.

Hudl is a combination of a web based application and a software application. It's not free (you can sign up for a 30 day trial), but it's a lot cheaper that SportsCode and other tools that are similar. To capture video you need to download the software from their website, plug your video camera into your computer and start capturing. Once you are done capturing, you upload the video to your Hudl account and can start editing clips for coaches and players to watch.

A great benefit of Hudl compared to other similar products is that you can add other coaches to the account as well as players. When their accounts are created, they are sent an email with their log on credentials. Coach accounts can be set up to be able to upload and edit film or just watch film. Player accounts can only watch film, but they can also create their own highlight videos to send to recruiters. Here are a few other benefits that I have found:

1. Being able to add and delete accounts as an administrator of your account

2. Assign specific clips to individual players, groups of players or the whole team

3. Exchange video with other teams that use Hudl(two way) or send film to teams that do not use Hudl(one way)

4. Monitor what players are watching and how long they are spending watching video

5. Can be used on a PC or a Mac since it is web based

6. Log into Hudl from anywhere that has an internet connection(don't need to use the same computer)

7. There are iOS and Android apps available also to be able to watch video from your smart phone or tablet

Here is a screenshot showing the video cut up screen in Hudl:

Here is a short video of goals I created with Hudl:

Although Hudl doesn't have a use in the classroom for teaching lessons; it does have one for sports teams. This would be a great tool for teachers that also coach to use to help their students learn from watching game film.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Here is a little video I created using GoAnimate. I used the Quick Video Maker, which gave a step-by-step tutorial. All I had to do was select a background, characters and then what I wanted them to say. I also thought it was cool that I could change their accent. I thought the British one was the best.
Trouble with HTML. by jlstrickland on GoAnimate

I had a lot more fun with this tool versus using Animoto. I can see a lot more uses for this in the class to make some of the lessons fun or even have the students create videos showing what they learned in a specific lesson.

The free version seems to give you a good start, but there is a paid version that gives you more options to choose from.

GoAnimate is another Web 2.0 tool that can be used to create animated cartoon videos. According to their site you can:Make Amazing Animated Videos!
Use our Video Maker to create videos for free.

Make a viral video.

Create an animated lesson for your class.

Make an explainer video for your project, a demo video for your business, or a training video for your class.

Signing up is free and easy. You can create a free account using your preferred email address or log in using your Gmail or Facebook accounts.

There is a tutorial page for all kinds of tips and tricks in using GoAnimate.

From what I have seen in other classes at Loyola, GoAnimate is a great tool to make an easy and fun video to give a message or to explain how to do something. I think kids would really enjoy this because it takes something they already like, cartoons, and adds a lesson or a message. A lot of children's cartoons on TV today have this so why not use the same ideas in lesson plans. This would not be a way to replace your lesson, but to supplement it.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

I did some more looking around online and found some additional resources for using Animoto. Below are a few links I found.

1. Bringing Lessons to Life with Animoto - This site discusses strategies for using Animoto and gives examples of lesson plans by grade level. I think this would give teacher some ideas to start with or to use in their classes to demonstrate using Animoto.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

This is my first attempt at using a Web 2.0 tool. I decided to use Animoto because I have seen other teachers at Loyola Blakefield use it to make videos of all kinds of things. Animoto is described on the website as “..the most beautiful way to share your photos & videos. Easy as pie.” It’s pretty simple to use and after you sign up there is a brief tutorial about how to use Animoto. They also have a help section on the website that has additional resources and answers to common FAQ’s. You can sign up for a free account, which allows you to create 30-second videos using a few of their themes and songs. You can then add your own photos, videos, captions and text to create your video. There are options to upgrade your account for a fee. Some of the features of the paid accounts include unlimited video length, more song and theme choices, the ability to upgrade your video to HD and the ability to download your video and save it to your computer. The free and paid versions allow you to share your videos online through many sites such as Facebook, Twitter, email, Blogger and many more.

For my example I stuck with the free account and used pictures of my daughter smiling.

Animoto would be a good way for students to show something about their life, where they live or maybe even a vacation they have taken to their classmates or even used in a telecollaborative project with a class in a different part of the country or world.

Seeing the State Farm commercial on Becky's blog about not believing everything you read or see on the internet made me think of this video we have passed around work and with my friends. It was created by the BBC as an April Fool's joke in the 1950's.